Just last week, Cassella didn’t think he’d be here. Even though his hometown is hosting the Super Bowl, he was offered not a ticket by the NFL. But then Irsay, he said, heard about him through news reports and extended a surprise invitation.

“I’ve been saying from Day One I would probably be in my recliner watching the game,” Cassella, who wore a suit to the game, said.

But once he got the invitation, he felt he couldn’t decline it.

“Everybody I talked to are thrilled that I’m going, representing East Rutherford here,” Cassella said. “And because of the gesture, you cannot do that – you have to go — because Mr. Isray was kind enough to reach out to you and invite you to the game. So the bottom line is, you’ve got to go.”

Cassella started his day around 7 a.m., and spent most of it at his town’s Super Bowl party, which he said more than 6,000 people attended.

“People were coming in by trains. Every which way they could get there. We had a great party,” he said.

But Cassella said that’s no thanks to the NFL, which he accused of ignoring its fans, East Rutherford and New Jersey.

“They could care less. It’s not just me. It’s the people that buy their merchandise. The people who pay for the tickets. Those people are the ones they ignore for this game. They just ignore them,” Cassella said.

Cassella said he always figured the NFL would promote the game as a New York event.

“Even though I knew it was going to be a New York-themed promotion, I thought New Jersey would get more recognition and more respect than it did. So I was disappointed big time with that,” Cassella said. “And mainly because of the economics of it. People coming from all parts of the country, especially Denver or Seattle, they keep hearing New York – so where are they going to go?”

Cassella, who said he roots for both the Jets and the Giants, wasn’t sure who he’d be pulling for tonight. When asked, he pointed at Irsay’s suite.

“I’m honestly to wait to see how they’re rooting,” he said. “Because they’ve been so nice.”